OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Makes New Investment in Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,668 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Ross Stores by 19.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,121,854 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $465,563,000 after buying an additional 673,670 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ross Stores by 11,176.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 557,158 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $77,105,000 after purchasing an additional 552,217 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ross Stores by 74.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,280,052 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $144,582,000 after purchasing an additional 547,416 shares during the last quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Ross Stores by 95.3% in the 4th quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 909,527 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $125,869,000 after purchasing an additional 443,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Ross Stores by 151.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 730,754 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $82,539,000 after purchasing an additional 439,950 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ross Stores news, Director Patricia H. Mueller sold 2,265 shares of Ross Stores stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.38, for a total value of $329,285.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $278,257.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Brian R. Morrow sold 10,734 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,567,164.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 62,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,806. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,097 shares of company stock worth $10,396,178 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ross Stores Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Ross Stores stock opened at $133.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $143.71 and its 200 day moving average is $135.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Ross Stores, Inc. has a one year low of $99.00 and a one year high of $151.12.

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.19. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 41.15% and a net margin of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Ross Stores announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ross Stores Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.3675 dividend. This represents a $1.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Ross Stores’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Ross Stores’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Ross Stores from $145.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ross Stores from $147.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Ross Stores from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.21.

Ross Stores Profile

Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.